~ Book Review : Dare You To ~

Book Twenty Five : Dare You To by Katie McGarry

“I hold the bottle out into the rain and watch as the steady flow slowly fills it. When there is enough, enough that Beth can clearly see, I close the bottle and hand it to her.

She raises a skeptical eyebrow, but accepts the bottle.

"It's our rain Beth."

Her head barely shakes to show her confusion while I rub the back of my neck and search for my courage. "I told you I loved you in this rain and when you doubt my words, I want you to look at this bottle.” 

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....

My Thoughts : I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive about this book. Beth was not my favourite character from Pushing the Limits; however, the kindle version was on sale so why not give it a go?

I really loved the beginning of this book. I loved the interactions between Beth and Ryan. The scene in the fast food restaurant was hilarious. I love that Beth says exactly what she is thinking. The middle was where it did fall a little flat for me, but, thankfully, the story really picked up again towards the end. Dare You To took me on a very emotional roller coaster. There were times where I got so frustrated at Beth and Ryan. There were also times I just melted away.

Beth, has such depth as a character. Her life is something, thankfully, I have never experienced. I wasn't surprised by her need to take care of her Mother, but it was crippling Beth.. It was so sad to see her push others away because she felt this strong need to care for her drug addicted Mother.
 I was so happy to see her trust in others grow. I ended up really liking Beth. I think she is so brave.

Then there is Ryan. The typical high school jock. He was easy to like from the beginning. I think we can all relate to the pressure we feel to meet others expectations. It was nice to read a book about a bad girl and a good guy. I love the relationship between Ryan and his friends, especially Logan.
Please Katie McGarry give Logan a book!!

I was really happy that Katie McGarry intertwined Echo and Noah into the story. It was nice to see how they were doing. I am really enjoying companion novels more and more.

I know others were upset this book wasn't about Beth and Isaiah. I probably would have been as well, but I knew the next book was all about my favourite bad boy.

Overall, this book was really good. If you are a fan of Pushing the Limits then I am sure you will like this one too. Katie McGarry is a great writer. She uses such detail that you get lost in the stories.  Even though these are young adult books, they do deal with very deep and serious issues. These are not light, fluffy reads, and it does contain quite strong language.
I gave this book four out of five stars


click here to read my review on Pushing the Limts by Katie McGarry


image from goodreads